Internal History: origins and development of legal
rules and principles under external influence
Annotations:
Rules & Principles
External: Traces sources & factors which have
contributed directly/indirectly to the dev of a
legal system
Annotations:
political, constitutional, sociological, economic & religious factors contributed to dev of legal system
*NB = sheds light on internal hist. eg. influence of cannon law
explains rules/principles of law of ccontract
SA Law not codified: no comprehensive written
version of law that has the force of legislation
Search all
sources of law:
Court decisions
Legislation
Common law
Centre around which
other sources that
generate law revolve
In SA = Roman-Dutch law as
influenced by English law
Indigenous African law
Customary law
ORIGINS OF THE LAW
Western Component
Annotations:
Roman-Dutch & English Law
Foundation starts with foundation of Rome in 753 BC/8th Cent BC
4th Cent AD Roman Empire (RE) split into East & West RE
East RE traced until death of Justinian in 6th Cent AD
Trace Eng law to 11th cent AD
Common law *NB
common law *NB
Indigenous Component
Annotations:
Indigenous African Law
Earliest African history =
preliterate therefore it has
existed before time
immemorial
Universal Component
Annotations:
Human rights: Fundamental Rights
Human-rights = Traced back to rise of natural law theory dev
by Greek & Roman thinkers + early Christina church fathers from 4th Cent AD
Human rights law = rise of the
natural-law theory dev by Greek &
Roman thinkers + early Christian church
fathers before 4th Cent AD
Religious legal systems
canon law: law of the Catholic church
Islamic law recently has influenced our law
SA Legal system
= hybrid due to
characteristics
of R-D, Eng &
Indig Laws
Religious legal systems
Canon law = Catholic church
Islamic law
Being investigated by the SA
Law Reform Commission to
integrate it into SA law of
marriage
RECEPTION PHENOMENON
Reception
Willing adoption/absorption of rules,
principles & institutions of a legal
system into an existing legal
system
In complexu reception
= reception of an
entire Legal system
E.g. Eng law in SA; reception of HR into SA (Bill of Rights)
E.g. Reception of Roman law in WE: 4 phases
1. Pre-reception/Infiltration, 5th Cent AD = few Roman rules
were chosen & randomly incorporated into
Germanic Customary law - Sporadic. Started in 5th
Cent when Germanic tribes adopted Roman idea of
individual land ownership.
2. Intellectual "rediscovery" of
Justinian's Roman law by
Glossators: 12th Cent AD, Law
School of Bologna, Italy
3. Early reception phase= scientific
study of Roman law: 13th & 14th Cent AD
4. Reception proper = 15th & 16th
Cent AD. Roman system inc into legal
system of various countries as part
of common law
Practical reception
Reception of actual rules
Scientific reception
Reception of the framework,
concepts, categories,
principles, divisions
Also received in
Louisiana, Quebec,
Japan, Egypt &
South America
Transplantation
Intro of a legal
system into a
territory which
has no legal
system
Imposition
Impose a legal system on a
territory which already has
a legal system - against the
will of the local
inhabitants
E.g. R-D law on indig law
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF EVENTS
753 BC: Foundation of the city of Rome
Influenced by Germanic law (Holland) & Canon law
BCE: Before Common Era: Before year Nil
CE: Common Era: After year Nil
Considered to be
more respectful to
other religions
BC: Before Christ
AD: Anno Domini: "in the year of our Lord"
Used until 19th Cent;
Used in this module
4** BC: Beginning of the Republic
AD 3** Invasions of the Germanic tribes — the Roman Empire starts declining
AD 395: Division of the Empire into the E & W Empire
Ad 476: Fall of Roman Empire
AD 500: Germanic Rule of WRE
Emperor Justinian of ERE has Roman law codified in Corpus Iuris Civilis